This invention relates to laundry detergent compositions which comprise in addition to conventional organic surface active components, a substantially water insoluble particulate material whose surface is modified by treatment with a cationic functional organosilicon compound.
Conventional household laundry detergents are formulated from a number of diverse ingredients designed to function together to provide detersive properties under a variety of water and use conditions. Builders are incorporated into detergents to boost cleaning power especially in hard water. Although phosphates, especially sodium tripolyphosphate perform well as detergent builders, the desirability of reducing for environmental reasons the phosphates in detergent formulations has become apparent. Zeolites have been used as ion exchange agents to replace the sequestering power of the phosphates in detergent formulations, but the formulations often don't provide the cleaning power that is desired.
The present invention is based on the discovery that the cleaning power of conventional organic surface active agents can be boosted by including in the detergent formulation an insoluble particulate material with a surface modified by a cationic organosilicon compound. Detergent compositions containing various particulate materials for specific functions such as scouring, improving processing, imparting fabric softness, controlling electrostatic charge on fabrics and softening wash waters by ion exchange are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,046 describes imparting to fabrics a series of desirable properties including antiwrinkling, ease of ironing, fabric softening, anti-static, folding ease and enhanced fabric drapability by utilizing insoluble particulate materials having a specific anistropic shape.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,447, colloidal silica formed in situ in the detergent composition is said to enhance cleaning and soil removal. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,255, relatively large amounts of metakaolin are employed in a laundry detergent composition to provide some fabric softening effect and good detergency. It is also taught that quaternary salt antistatic agents can be included in the detergent compositions containing metakaolin to further improve the fabric softening effect.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,647 teaches that smectite clay can be incorporated into laundry detergent compositions for fabric softening benefits.
A detergent composition containing particulate titanium dioxide is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,408. The titanium dioxide is said to reduce the yellow discoloration usually associated with the repeated laundering of cotton fabrics with detergents containing sodium carbonate as builder.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537 teaches that antistatic effects can be provided to fabrics in a laundry detergent composition by incorporating quaternary ammonium antistatic compounds into relatively water insoluble organic wax-like materials. The wax particles do not liberate the antistatic compounds until the textile fabrics are subjected to drying at a temperature above 125.degree. F.
Detergent compositions for cleaning solid surfaces are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,028. They contain cationic functional organosilanes that are incorporated to provide soil release benefits to hard surfaces that are washed with the detergent solutions. The organosilanes are deposited from the cleaner solutions onto hard surfaces to provide the soil release property to the surface. An abrasive cleaner was included among the cleaner types described which cleaner contained insoluble particulates such as silica in addition to the organosilane component. There is no suggestion in this patent that the surface of the particulate abrasive is modified by the organosilane or that particulate materials with organosilane modified surfaces could be used in a laundry detergent for textile fabrics.